1. Do I hold steady as of today with an 85% distribution of stocks (50-50 mix of US and international) and 15% bonds? You should always be invested in a way that you can tolerate a stock market downturn/extended bear market that starts today. You should be invested that way even during the good tim...

Wanted to get advice on how to maximize my contributions to retirement tax-advantaged accts this year. I'm employed, spouse unemployed, we file jointly. Our AGI is usually above $700k due to stock vests from my employer. I leverage deferred compensation and 401k from employer to get into tax advant...

So I believe this can be generalized as: Place asset classes with higher expected growth (e.g. stocks) in Roth IRA / 401k, and asset classes with lower expected growth (e.g. bonds) in Traditional IRA / 401k. Some people do think this. Some do not. Others try to put both stocks and bonds in each acc...

The SCV can go in any one of those accounts. Where does it seem to fit best in your opinion? Something to keep in mind....almost any kind of fund is suitable for Roth IRA or a 403b. The only exception I can think of is muni bonds - few people would put a tax-exempt bond into a tax-advantaged account...

Just curious. Do you have some examples on who people messed up backdoor Roth conversion? Wanted to know for my own education. Sorry, I don't. But if you use the google box above and search for things like messed up back door or how to fix back door mistake or CP2000 letter back door. ...you will l...

Since you want to retire in a relatively high tax bracket (24% under current laws, 28% if taxes revert as scheduled) I don't see that tax deferral this year will be very helpful to you in the future. I'd use some Roth, maybe all Roth this year if you can. Be sure to get your match though. Once your ...

I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if the 401k would accept a check from you unless it is made out to them from the IRA company. In other words, I don't think a 60 day rollover works going that direction.

She must also have the Form 8606 for the year of non-deductible contribution - apparently 2017? If she did not do that form earlier this year, she can do it now and send it (alone) to the IRS. Apparently they accept these forms late, but do not send a notification that they got it.

Concerning my IRA with Vanguard. It sounds like there would be no tax liability at this point on the gain if I just switch funds with in Vanguard. How about on the other account? I am convinced now I should go for a much more conservative mix, but will I have to pay tax on that transfer if I stay w...

The numbers were somewhat different in 2016. Maybe you should look. And while I don't know that Triceratop did any charts for years before that, the discussion was always that the broader funds were usually more tax-efficient than the narrower funds. And I remember a time awhile back that SCV was no...

None of those are the S&P 500 Index so it is expected they will have a different return from the 500 Index. Every asset class has its day. And every asset class has its time in the pits. If you buy the one(s) that is doing well, that means you have already missed the "run up". You are buying at a hi...

A target or LifeStrategy fund in the Roth IRA would eliminate any problem. If you don't want 40% of your stocks to be in international, pick a target or LS fund with more bonds that you want and dilute it with some 500 Index. That would also reduce the international percentage. If you plan to run pa...

Thanks for the report. I've been wondering how people will feel come tax time when they have to report all these buying and selling activities. I can't speak for Vanguard, but in Fidelity managed accounts the selling/buying is generally for tax loss harvesting. They sell a losing fund and buy a sim...

Vpotus, your title just asks about SCV, not specifically Vanguard's SCV. Perhaps you were only thinking Vanguard's fund but did not think to say that. Some of the answers you got (mine included) may be in response to the title - just SCV - not specifically about Vanguard's SCV fund. It seems to me t...

1. Should I keep the Vanguard accounts as they are? I've considered a more conservative mixture of stocks and bonds, but also am still open to the annuity idea. Would there be a capital gains tax if I switched to another Vanguard fund? At this point there have been gains within both Vanguard accoun...

This isn't really a yes or no/better or best question. It depends on many other things. It depends on what space you have available and done properly it assumes you fill your 403b and a Roth IRA or two before putting retirement money into taxable. It also depends on the cost of the SCV fund and the ...

The after tax account rolls directly to Roth IRA if your 401k plan allows that. Or the after-tax contributions roll to Roth and the earnings roll to tIRA. You can do it either way. The existing IRA does not get in the way because your after-tax rollover should not go through your tIRA. If your curre...

But I don't think it should control the decision about where to direct savings in the first place. That, to me, comes down primarily to a comparison of working vs. retirement tax rates. (And also, possibly, the due consideration of tax diversification to address the significant uncertainty in futur...

Welcome to the forum! First a big "thank you" for posting your information in the format we use to help people with their portfolio questions. Following the format makes it much easier to help you. It is possible many people with jump in with suggestions. 1. I need help getting the allocation set up...

1. How are we doing overall? Fine. 2. Even after funding a comfortable lifestyle in our HCOL city with lots of travel and vacation, we likely have at least $6000 post-tax dollars annually to save. Where should these next saved dollars go? It appears you are not filling your 457b - the current limit...

Thank you. Here are my thoughts: If I diversify with a REIT in Roth, this means I pay taxes upfront. Money grows untaxed. I keep all the gains when withdrawing. That sounds great. In contrast, REIT placed in a 403b7 (I teach) = Money grows tax-free but I get taxed on the gains when I withdraw. Is i...

Do whatever you like because it will not matter one bit in the long run. I know that sounds offensive to a young person who is trying to get it right, but that is simply the dynamic of beginning portfolios. In fact, you could be invested in all bonds or money market the first year or so and it won't...

The other day, I read in a financial column that ETF's are preferred if you intend to keep those assets for longer than 4 months as opposed to having a mutual fund. This idea is nuts in my opinion. What was the reasoning behind that? I always thought that ETF's were mainly short term and used by ma...

Highfeehater, you are one lucky man (couple). I've never heard of an advisor who will give you your money back. Jump on that offer to pay only $400 to get out of this mess and consider it the cost of your financial education. It's a very small price to pay to get into a better portfolio and with red...

I think there is still some confusion about IRAs and 401ks. A 401k is a plan you have at work. When you leave that job, you can roll it into your next 401k at your next job or you can roll it into an IRA at a place like Vanguard or Betterment or Fidelity. There are two kinds of IRA - traditional IRA...

A lot of it is just not finding out what directions to follow. Everyone says "do the back door" and people follow that advice without knowing what is involved. And so many of them messed up and had to fix it. So many messes to fix. So I no longer make the suggestion to do the back door. I do still t...

there are step by step walkthroughs online, so no. the backdoor rIRA remains superior to taxable. What you are saying is correct, but it is not entirely accurate. Every year we have dozens of people who need help because they messed up their back door contributions to Roth IRA. For that reason, I n...

I'd like to say that using the back door to get money into Roth is not a forgone conclusion. Yes, it is somewhat better financially. But many people mess it up and find that unwinding their mistakes is time consuming and frustrating. It may not be worth that for some people. If you decide to use the...

One of our posters here, Steve Schullo, has done a great deal of work on this expensive 403b issue. Here is a link to information about him. He has several books and there is also a free download book available. This could be helpful knowledge if you decide to undertake a union action. https://www.g...

There is still one thing to check. Your school MIGHT be eligible to use a state 457b plan. If not eligible, they MIGHT be eligible to be eligible if someone does the legwork. State 457b plans are frequently better than 403b plans. You need to check this out. I think a 2.5% or thereabouts cost is unr...

What if immediately after after-tax contributions, I convert it to a Roth IRA. Then, there would be minimal to no earnings. This seems to take care of the issue? While that might be optimal, that is likely 26 actions each year. Not only is that a lot of trouble on your part, your plan may limit the...

A good thing to keep in mind when it comes to taxes.... Almost all money is taxed at some point. There are only a few exceptions to this. For example, the earnings that occur inside a Roth IRA are not taxed if you are at least 59.5 and your Roth IRA is over 5 years old when you take that money out. ...

I called my 401k company again, and the guy confirmed basically what you said. This was not what the previous lady said. My plan doesn't have a Roth IRA option, only a roth 401k option. I did some research and it looks like if I do the after-tax contribution, a conversion to roth-401K will be taxed...

If you believe your Roth IRAs will be used for retirement, invest them like your other retirement money. If there is a decent possibility the money will be used for college, invest it more conservatively (not just in stocks) and when a few years out, make it even more conservative by putting it all ...

It is more likely you are just not communicating because the terminology is awkward until you learn it. What you think you are asking and what she thinks she is answering may be two different things. It is also possible she is wrong, but I would not assume that - the people at the level of answering...

Welcome to the forum. Questions like this are impossible to answer because people have no idea what your situation looks like. In order to get reliable answers, you should post your information in the format we use to help people with their portfolio questions. See the link at the bottom of this mes...